I’m Allergic to my Sweater

I bought this sweater more than a month or so ago but it’s mostly just been sitting in my bedroom wrapped in tissue paper & still in the shopping bag it came in. When I brought the sweater home I noticed that it wasn’t just a wool/cashmere blend, but a wool/cashmere/angora blend.. and that’s when I got scared. I once bought an angora sweater and when I brought it home and put it on I went into such a sneezing fit and face itchiness that I took it off, gave it to my friend and never wanted to see it again. So, this new sweater… I loved it so much and didn’t want to return it but was afraid to wear it! Finally on my Thanksgiving Vacation, when I was already drugged up on Claritin because my cousin has cats, I got brave enough to put it on.. and I was fine. This morning I put it on again.. and sneezed 1 or 2 times. Nothing compared to the sneezing attack that I remember from my last angora sweater. I took a Claritin today just to make sure there wouldnt be any problems.. but doesn’t it seem strange that I have to take drugs to be able to wear my new favorite sweater?

I had the same problem with an angora sweater I bought a few years ago, so I gently washed it, now I love wearing it and many other I have bought since. The only ones I can’t wear, are the one with lambswool, my favorite ones are with 80% angora and 20% acrylic, not a scratch or sneeze anywhere. Also I have just found a shop on line that does 100% angora sweaters…..got to have one!!! http://www.angoraknitforyou.com
Hope that helps
Jane

just wanted to tell you that I am also allergic to angora and cats. I react the same to an angora blend sweater as I would if I slung a couple of cats over my shoulder. I think this is a pretty common allergy b/c angora has a lot of residual cat-like dander on it (from the bunnies).